Legal

In a closely watched decision, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on September 8 that the mere act of linking to copyrighted content can in and of itself be a breach of copyright. The decision went against the advice of the CJEU's own advocate general, who stated earlier this year that the act of linking should not be illegal.

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On May 21-22, 2012, the United Nations Committee against Torture will review Canada's failure to comply with its obligations under the Convention against Torture to prevent, punish and remedy the torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of Canadian Omar Khadr during his ongoing detention at Guantánamo prison.

In a report to the Committee against Torture, Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (CLMG) state that Canada was both a direct participant and indirectly complicit in the torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of Mr. Khadr by his U.S. captors.

The G20 Legal Defence Fund has opened its fourth and final application round. The Fund is now accepting applications for requests for financial assistance from G20 defendants, both current and past.

If you have incurred legal or associated costs as a result of criminal charges you faced following the G20 in Toronto, please consider applying for assistance from the Fund. If you previously applied to the Fund, you can reapply for costs that may not have been covered previously.

Doors at 8:30 p.m., music at 9:30 p.m.Suggested donation is $5-10 (no one will be turned away).

All those facing charges related to the G20 summit still need our support. Legal fees cost a lot so help us raise some money! (Please note that this is one of two benefit shows this week -- with another on September 24. See below for details).

Harry Kopyto, well-known legal activist, is back fighting the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC), this time over the lawyer-controlled Society's newly acquired powers to regulate the paralegal profession.

Building on a swell of support for better regulation of the paralegal profession, the Ontario government passed the Access to Justice Act, 2006 (also known as Bill 14). The Act grants the Law Society -- a body comprised of lawyers traditionally tasked with governing themselves -- the formal authority for licensing paralegals. It also limits the scope of legal activities a paralegal can engage in, such as barring them from Family Court proceedings, and preventing them from doing a range of tasks related to real estate work, wills, and undefended divorces.

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Attending protests may have more serious consequences for activists if proposed changes to the Identification of Criminals and the sentencing provisions in the Criminal Code are passed by the current government.